Apparatus for compressing material



Dec. 28, 1965 N. RYBlCKl 3,225,411

APPARATUS FOR COMPRESSING MATERIAL Filed March 2, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 71 5Q INVENTOR.

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Dec. 28., 1965 N. RYBlCKl 3,225,411

APPARATUS FOR COMPRESSING MATERIAL Filed March 2, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 28, 1965 N. RYBlCKl 3,225,411

APPARATUS FOR COMPRESSING MATERIAL Filed March 2, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 TO sPmE HAMMERS -425 Dec. 28, 1965 N. RYBlCKl APPARATUS FOR COMPRESSING MATERIAL 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

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\Q EZ m United States Patent 3,225,411 APPARATUS FOR QOMPRESSHNG MATERIAL Norman Rybicki, Chicago, Iii., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Wehr Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Mar. 2, 1961, Ser. No. 92,977 8 Claims. (Cl. 2591) This invention relates to a press, and more particularly to a pressing apparatus for compressing finely divided material into a predetermined shape, such as into a brick form.

Attempts have previously been made to produce a cored-fired clay block for the building industry which would be similar in appearance and strength to the common concrete building block. One attempted method of producing such a block was to utilize a vibrating concrete block machine, and although the strength of the fired clay product was satisfactory, the appearance was not' The use of a hydraulic press was found to produce blocks having densities that were too high, since the pressure of the press could not be controlled sufliciently to give the desired density.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a new and improved press that may be used to produce a coredfired clay block having desirable load-bearing qualities, good surface characteristics, and a relatively light weight.

Another object is to provide a press for compressing finely divided material into special intricate shapes and which is simply and easily converted for producing different shapes and thereby especially adapted for short run production.

Another object is to provide the press of the preceding paragraph with top and bottom hammers that strike floating intermediate force transmitting elements which transfer force from the hammers to die members in contact with the top and bottom surfaces of finely divided material contained in a mold cavity on the press.

Still another object is to provide such a press with ejection means to remove the compressed material shape from the mold, and another object is to provide control means to automatically control the operation of the hammers to obtain a desired density of the compressed material shape.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following description and the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the front of a press embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the press;

FIGURE 3 is a view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the mold cavity and the striking member;

FIGURE 5 is a view of the control box and related piping taken substantially along the line 5-5 of FIG- URE 2; and

FIGURES 6 and 7 are schematic diagrams of the operating circuit of the press.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and herein will be described in detail one specific embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, the press includes a main frame 10 having a bed 11 and a top plate 12 supported above the bed on four vertical main columns 13. The main columns are located, two on each side of the bed 11 and secured to the bed and the top plate 12 by suitable nuts 14, to complete a rigid frame member. A crosshead member 16 located between the bed 11 and the top plate 12 is slidably mounted on the main columns 13 by guide bushings 17. A pair of air cylinders 20 are mounted on the top plate 12, one on either side of the bed between a pair of main columns and have their associated piston rods 21 extending downward through holes in the top plate and affixed to the crosshead 16 so that operation of the air cylinders will lower and raise the crosshead on the main columns relative to the bed and top plate.

A pair of rods 22 are affixed at their lower ends to the top of the crosshead 16 in suitable support blocks 23 and extend upward through an opening 24 provided in the top plate 12. The rods are located, one on either side of the center of the crosshead, and are tied together at the top by a bar 25 held thereon by nuts 26. Mounted to the top surface of plate 12 are a pair of half bushing members 28 each associated with one of the rods 22 to guide the rods when the crosshead is raised or lowered by the air cylinders 20.

An air-operated top spike hammer 30 is mounted at the center of bar 25 by a nut 31 and depends therefrom with its striker member 32 extending through opening 24 in top plate 12 and through a centrally located hole 33 in crosshead 16. The top hammer 33 is supported midway its length by a bracket 35 which is secured to the hammer and the rods 22, and striking member 32 is guided by a bushing 36 mounted on the top surface of the crosshead and surrounding hole 33. A pair of guide blocks 37 are mounted to the underside of the crosshead, one on each side of hole 33 and support a top striking plate 38. Striking plate 38 is confined between the guide blocks in a fixed lateral position but is free to move vertically between the lower surface of the crosshead and inwardly extending surfaces 37a of the guide blocks 37. A plunger or intermediate force transmitting element 39 is mounted on the bottom surface of the striking plate 38 by four bolts 40 around the periphery thereof (only one of which is shown) and a hardened steel die plate 42 attached to the undersurface thereof (see FIGURE 4).

The bed 11 has a mold support plate 45 mounted thereon and a centrally located hole 46 is provided through plate 45 and the bed 11, axially aligned with the bore 33. Plate 45 supports a mold cavity 48 which is centrally located over hole 46 and contains a quantity of finely divided draw material 49 to be compressed into a desired brick shape. A bottom striking plate 50, has a hardened steel die plate 51 attached to the top surface thereof and lay-s atop the mold support plate 45 and the top portion including the die plate is confined within the mold cavity 48 providing support for the material 49. The lower surface of striking plate is provided with a recess 52, in axial alignment with the hole 46. The recess 52 receives the top portion of a floating ram head 53, the bottom portion of which is necked-down as at 53a and confined within a recessed striking member 55 of a bottom spike hammer 56. The hammer 56 is vertically mounted at its base 56a to the top of an ejector post 57 that depends through a bushing 38 centrally located in a base plate 54 of the frame 10, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 4. The floating ram head 53 is restricted from lateral movement due to its confinement within the striking member 55, but is free to float or move vertically between recess 52 in striking plate 50 and the striking member 55.

A closure 59, having sides 60 and 61, a bottom 62 and a top plate 63, substantially surrounds bottom spike hammer 56 with the base 56a of the hammer extending downward through the bottom 62 and the top portion of the hammer bolted to the top plate 63. The top portion of the closure 59, including the top plate 63, is confined within the opening 46 and slidable therethrough, the opening providing a guide for the closure when it is raised to eject a completed brick shape from the mold cavity 48 as will be described later.

The ejector post 57 is provided with a transverse slot 65 adjacent its .upper end and an elongated ejector bar 66 is mounted within the slot and extends an equal distance from either side of the ejector post along the entire length of the press, as shown in FIGURES l and 3. The bottom surface of the ejector bar 66 rests on top of the base 54 and prevents the post from dropping down through the bushing 58. A pair of ejector air cylinders 68 are mounted to the bed 11 and located one on either side of the main columns 13 remote from the center of the press. Piston rods 69 of the ejector cylinders hang downward through holes provided in the bed 11 and are connected to ejector bar 66 at points 70 and 71 which are spaced from the ends of bar 66 and equidistant from the center of the press. A pair of air-oil snubber cylinders 73 and 74 are associated with each of the ejector cylinders 68. Each of the snubber cylinders 73 is mounted directly atop one of the ejection cylinders and each of the cylinders 74 is mounted on the bed 11 adjacent each of the ejection cylinders. The piston rods 75 of cylinders 74 hang downward through openings in the bed 11 and are afiixed to the ejector bar 66 adjacent each end thereof at points 76 and 77. The purpose of the snubber cylinders is to control the upward movement of the ejection cylinders 68 as they raise the ejection bar to eject a brick shape from the mold cavity.

An L-shaped safety catch lever 79 is pivotally mounted at 80 to the top surface of the plate 12 at the front of the press and has cutout portions 80 and 8-1 which engage the edges of the top plate 12 and the crosshead 16, respectively, as shown in the FIGURES l and 2, to retain the crosshead in its upper position in the event of an air failure or when the air supply is shut off. The upper portion of the lever 79 has a cam surface 84 extending over the plate 12 which engages an air valve 85 that supplies air to the crosshead cylinders 20. When an operator rotates the safety lever 79 clockwise about the point 80, he disengages the cutout portion 81 from the crosshead and lowers the cam surface 84 to operate valve 85 and supply air to crosshead cylinders 20, lowering the crosshead. The plunger 39 and upper die plate 42 are lowered into the mold cavity 48 and contact the top surface of the material 49, as shown by the dotted lines in FIGURE 1 and in FIGURE 4.

A pair of control rods 87 and 88 depend from and are vertically adjustable in a plate 89 that is mounted to the top surface of the crosshead 16 at the rear of the press. The control rods are directly above and in axial alignment with a corresponding pair of rods 87a and 88a which depend into a control box 90 that is mounted to the bed 11. As best seen in FIGURES 2 and 5, each of the rods 87a and 88a enter the control box 90 through a bushing 91 and are surrounded by a housing 92 that confines a spring 93 between the top of the bushing and the top portion of the housing to normally urge the rods upwardly. The above arrangement prevents foreign material from entering the control box. When the crosshead 16 is lowered by operation of the crosshead cylinders 20, the control rods 87 and 88 will also be lowered and contact the rods 87a and 88a causing them to move downward and contact certain air valves to operate the spike hammers.

As the rod 87a is lowered in the control box it engages a bell crank lever 94 which is normally urged clockwise by a spring 95 about a pivot 96, causing it to move counterclockwise and close a valve 97 which allows air to enter the top and bottom spike hammers 32 and 56 and commence operation thereof.

The rod 88:: controls the thickness of size of the material 49 compressed within the mold cavity and has a head 98 on the lower end thereof which is of a larger diameter than the remaining portion of the rod. As rod 88a moves downward in the control box, the head 98 contacts a roller 99 on a bell crank lever 100, moving the lever clockwise to open a valve 101. The lever 100 is normally urged in a counterclockwise direction by a spring 102 to keep the valve 101 closed. At the time head 98 moves lever 101 clockwise, a latch member 104 which is pivoted at 105, swings upward to a horizontal position against a pin 106 by the urging of a pawl 107 and a spring 108. In its horizontal position the end of the latch 104 abuts a stop 110 on bell crank lever 100 to maintain the lever in position to keep the valve 101 open after the head '98 has moved below the roller 99.

The rod 88a contacts roller 99 just prior to contact between rod 87a and the bell crank lever 96 since the valve 101 must be open in order to operate the spike hammer. As the size control rod 38a is further lowered in the control tlJOX due to the material 49 being compressed by the hammers, the head 98 passes below the roller 99 and contacts the latch 104, pivoting it downward out of abutment with the stop 110 and the bell crank lever 100 immediately moves counterclockwise due to the urging of spring 102 to close valve 101, which stops the operation of the spike hammers and raises the crosshead. As the rod 88a moves upward head 98 again contacts roller 99 and latch 104 swings upward to hold lever 100 in position to keep valve 101 open. As previously mentioned the rods 87 and 88 are vertically adjustable so that the operation of the spike hammers may be accurately timed to give the material formed in the mold cavity a desirable density.

The operation of the press apparatus will now be described, referring primarily to the schematic air circuits shown in FIGURES 6 and 7. Wherever possible the number designations in the schematic diagram will be also shown on the remaining figures to more clearly illustrate the piping connections.

The press is connected to an external source of air pressure and air supplied to the various operating members of the press. When the press is at-rest, crosshead cylinders 20 are holding the crosshead in its uppermost position and it is locked in this position by safety catch member 79. The positions of the various valve members in the schematic circuits are shown with the press in its at-rest position.

To commence operation, the operator pivots the safety catch member 79 counterclockwise, releasing the crosshead 16 and engaging the cam surface 84 with the valve 85, closing the valve and allowing air to a conduit 115. The conduit is connected to the pilot of an air piloted, two position valve 116, and the air shifts it to the right (FIGURE 6) supplying air through a conduit 117 to the top of the crosshead cylinders 20, thereby lowering the crosshead and bringing the hardened upper die plate 42 into pressing contact with the finely divided material 49 in the mold cavity. Approximately 7 tons of pressure, depending upon the air pressure supplied to the cylinders, is applied to the crosshead and maintained on the material at all times. Air pressure is also supplied through the valve 85 and a conduit 119 to an air piloted, two position valve 120, shifting the valve to the right as shown in FIGURE 6.

As the crosshead is lowered, the control rod 87 engages the rod 87a, moving it downward in the control box where it engages the bell crank lever 94 and closes valve 97. Air is now supplied through the valve 95, a conduit 121, a directional T connection 122, valve 120 and a conduit 123 to the pilot of an air piloted single flow valve 124. The valve 124, which is normally biased open, closes and air passes therethrough to a conduit 125 and to the top and bottom spike hammers 30 and 56, starting the hammers and applying a repeated striking force to the top striking plate 38 and the ram head 53 further compressing the material.

The striking member 32 of the top spike hammer is relatively large compared to hammers used on other,

. any time.

presses of the type described and has a striking surface of the order of five inches in diameter and strikes the upper striking plate 38 with a force of approximately 90 pounds, 400-500 times per minute. Energy from the striking member is transferred uniformly through the floating striking plate 38 and the intermediate plunger 39 to the die plate 42 and thence, uniformly distributed over the entire surface of the material in the mold cavity. Because of the floating striking plate and intermediate plunger element, there is no concentration of force through the die to the material as would be the case if the hammer was directly pounding the surface contacting the material. Directly pounding the material contacting surface has a tendency to vary the density of the brick, particularly in the larger shapes where the density has been found to be greatest directly under the point where the hammer strikes the surface. Striking the surface bearing directly on the material also causes the surface to bounce or pull away from the material, and then strike it again, resulting in material creeping out around the edges of the surfaces.

The bottom spike hammer 56 transfers its hammering force through the floating ram head 53, the lower striking plate 50 and the lower die plate 51 to uniformly distribute this force to the bottom surface of the material.

By using the floating striking plate 38 and the floating ram head 52 the hammering force is uniformly distributed over the surfaces of the material and a better quality product with a uniform density is produced, and construction of the pressing members is greatly simplified.

The top and bottom hammers continue to compress the material in a mold frame, the crosshead 16 is further lowered, and the rod 88a moves further downward into the control box to contact the latch 104 and close valve 101, as previously described. Air is then supplied through the valve 101, a directional T connection 126 and a conduit 127 to valve 120, shifting it to the left (FIG- URE 6) cutting off the air supply to the pilot of valve 125. Valve 125 opens and cuts off air to the top and bottom hammer. Air is also supplied from the conduit 127 through the directional T 122 and the valve 120 to a conduit 128 which is connected to the valve 116, and shifts the valve to the left (FIGURE 6) to exhaust air from the top of cylinders 20 and supply air to the bottom of the cylinders through conduit 129, thereby raising the crosshead and completing the press cycle. Emergency valves 130 and 131, are located at the front and rear of the press respectively, and may be closed to stop the operation of the hammers and raise the crosshead at The emergency valves operate to shift valve 120 to the left in the same manner as the valve 101.

After the material has been compressed to its desired shape and density, the hammering action ceased and the crosshead raised, the ejector mechanism is operated to remove the brick shape from the mold cavity 48. Referring to FIGURE 7, the operator closes a manually operated ejector valve 135 located on bed 11 to supply air through a conduit 136 to air valves 137 and 138 which are air piloted in one direction and spring returned in the other direction. The valves 137 and 138 are shifted and supply air through conduits 139 and 139a to the bottom of the two ejector cylinders 68, raising the cylinders and the ejector bar 66. Since the ejector bar engages ejector post 57 through slot 65, the ejector post will also move upward and in turn raise the bottom hammer 56 and ram head 53 against the lower striking plate 50 and the material 49, to eject the formed material from the mold cavity. The closure member 59 which surrounds the lower hammer 56, guides the upward travel of the ejector post Within opening 46 in the bed of the press. In order to lower the ejector mechanism, the valve 135 is opened, cutting off air pressure to valves 137 and 138 which are then spring returned to exhaust air from the lower portion of the ejector cylinders and the pistons within the cylinders move downward due to the weight of the crossbar and the ejector post assembly.

The material 49 is usually tightly compressed Within the mold frame offering considerably frictional resistance to the ejector mechanism, and due to the compressibility of air, pressure will build up in the ejector cylinders as they move upward and attempt to overcome the resistance between the material and the mold cavity. When sutficient pressure builds up to overcome the frictional resistance, the compressed brick shape will suddenly jump or hop out of the mold cavity. To overcome this problem, a pair of snubber cylinders 73 and 74 are provided for each of the ejector cylinders. The snubber cylinders consist of a combination air-oil system and act to control and retard the movement of the ejector mechanism to provide a uniform upward movement thereof. Each of the cylinders 74 is attached to the ejector bar 66 and is filled with oil as at 140. The top portion of the cylinder 74 is connected through a flow control valve 141 to the bottom of cylinder 173 which is partially filled with oil and supplied with air pressure at its top portion. As the ejector bar 66 is raised, the oil in cylinder 74 passes through the control valve 141 into the cylinder 73. The Valve 141 can be adjusted to regulate the flow of oil therethrough to vary the upward speed of the crossbar 66 and its associated ejection mechanism and since the oil is not compressible the brick shape is uniformly removed from the mold cavity.

I claim:

1. A pressing apparatus of the character described, comprising: a main frame, a bed on said frame having a mold for containing finely divided raw material, a crosshead slidably mounted on said frame above said bed, a floating force transmitting element carried by said crosshead and supporting a die receivable in the mold cavity, a top hammer mounted on said crosshead operably associated with the force transmitting element, a bottom hammer mounted on said frame below the bed, means for moving the crosshead toward said bed to bring the die in pressing contact with the top surface of material in the mold cavity, means for moving said top hammer to repeatedly strike said floating force transmitting element, whereby the hammer striking force is transferred through said element to the die and uniformly distributed to the top surface of material in the mold cavity, means for moving the bottom hammer to apply a repeated striking force to the bottom surface of the material, releasable latch means for maintaining said crosshead in an upper, material noncompacting position, and means responsive to the release of said latch means for energizing said crosshead moving means to move said crosshead to bring said die into said pressing contact and for energizing said top and bottom hammers to apply said repeating striking forces to the top and bottom surfaces respectively of the material.

2. The pressing apparatus of claim 1 wherein said latching means includes a detent portion for engagement with said crosshead, and a cam portion; and said last named means comprises control means for said crosshead moving means and said top and bottom hammers and means for actuating said control means, said actuating means being positioned to be contacted by said cam portion when said latch means is released to actuate said control means.

3. The pressing apparatus of claim 2 further including means adapted to be activated by an operator of said pressing apparatus in an emergency for de-energizing said crosshead moving means and said top and bottom hammers.

4. A pressing apparatus of the character described comprising: a main frame, a bed on said frame having a mold for containing finely divided raw material, a crosshead mounted on said frame above said bed, a floating force transmitting element and a top hammer carried by said crosshead, a floating ram head and a bottom hammer carried by said frame below said bed, means to lower said crosshead and operate said hammers to uniformly compress raw material in the mold cavity, and control means, including a pair of control rods mounted on said crosshead, a control boX mounted to said frame with openings in the top thereof for receiving the control rods, and controls within the control box operable by said control rods to operate the hammers for a timed period, and raise the crosshead assembly after it has been lowered a predetermined amount.

5. The apparatus described in claim 4 whereby the control rods are adjustable to vary the operating time of the hammers and the distance traveled by the crosshead.

6. The pressing apparatus of claim 4 further including means for raising said crosshead; said controls further comprising first means for alternatively actuating said crosshead raising means and said top and bottom hammers, second means for selectively actuating said crosshead lowering means, third means responsive to movement of said pair of rods to a first predetermined position for actuating said top and bottom hammers in conjunction with said first means, and fourth means responsive to movement of said pair of rods to a second predetermined position for actuating said crosshead raising means and for terminating operation of said top and bottom hammers in conjunction with said first means.

7. A pressing apparatus of the character described comprising a main frame, a bed on said frame having a mold cavity for containing raw material, a crosshead mounted on said frame above said bed, a floating force transmitting element carried by said crosshead and supporting a die receivable in said mold cavity, a hammer mounted on the crosshead operably associated with said floating element, means to move said floating element and said die toward the bed to compress material in the mold cavity, means to operate the hammer to repeatedly strike said floating element to transfer the hammering force and uniformly distribute the force to the surface of material in the mold cavity, means to remove compressed material from the mold cavity including a pair of air cylinders mounted on said bed and a cross bar assembly located below said bed and connected to the air cylinders, said air cylinders being operable to raise the cross bar assembly to contact the lower surface of compressed material in the mold cavity and eject material from the mold cavity, and a pair of snubber cylinders operatively associated with each of said air cylinders to control and to retard the stroke of the air cylinders and provide a uniform upward movement for the cross bar assembly.

8. The pressing apparatus of claim 7 further including adjustable valve means between each of said pair of snubber cylinders for selectively regulating the rate of upward movement of said cross bar assembly.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,541,981 2/1951 Babcock 2541 2,685,116 8/1954 Schutt 25-41 2,755,532 7/1956 Pallier 2586 2,909,826 10/1959 McElroy 25-41 2,980,978 4/1961 Marshall 2541 I. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

MICHAEL V. BRINDISI, Examiner. 

1. A PRESSING APPARATUS OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, COMPRISING: A MAIN FRAME, A BED ON SAID FRAME HAVING A MOLD FOR CONTAINING FINELY DIVIDED RAW MATERIAL, A CROSSHEAD SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME ABOVE SAID BED, A FLOATING FORCE TRANSMITTING ELEMENT CARRIED BY SAID CROSSHEAD AND SUPPORTING A DIE RECEIVABLE IN THE MOLD CAVITY, A TOP HAMMER MOUNTED ON SAID CROSSHEAD OPERABLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE FORCE TRANSMITTING ELEMENT, A BOTTOM HAMMER MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME BELOW THE BED, MEANS FOR MOVING THE CROSSHEAD TOWARD SAID BED TO BRING THE DIE IN PRESSING CONTACT WITH THE TOP SURFACE OF MATERIAL IN THE MOLD CAVITY, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID TOP HAMMER TO REPEATEDLY STRIKE SAID FLOATING FORCE TRANSMITTING ELEMENT, WHEREBY THE HAMMER STRIKING FORCE IS TRANSFERRED THROUGH SAID ELEMENT TO THE DIE AND UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED TO THE TOP OF MATERIAL IN THE MOLD CAVITY, MEANS FOR MOVING THE BOTTOM HAMMER TO APPLY A REPEATED STRIKING FORCE TO THE BOTTOM SURFACE OF THE MATERIAL, RELEASABLE LATCH MEANS FOR MAINTAINING SAID CROSSHEAD IN AN UPPER, MATERIAL NONCOMPACTING POSITION, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE RELEASE OF SAID LATCH MEANS FOR ENERGIZING SAID CROSSHEAD MOVING MEANS TO MOVE SAID CROSSHEAD TO BRING SAID DIE INTO SAID PRESSING CONTACT AND FOR ENERGIZING SAID TOP AND BOTTOM HAMMERS TO APPLY SAID REPEATING STRIKING FORCES TO THE TOP AND BOTTOM SURFACES RESPECTIVELY OF THE MATERIAL. 